Possibilities
by halfhuman123
Summary: Christmas is a very special time for Marlene. This Christmas is NO exception.


A/N: I'm still debating on whether to do something more with this one or not. But I thought it'd be fun to do, so... review, if you like it and have more questions, let me know. But for now, this is ALL I have for it.

**Possibilities**

Christmas was always a fun time of the year. For Marlene, anyway. And in her California aquarium, it was always a great celebration. The streetlamps around the zoo were even decorated with pretty, sparkly tinsel and even a few baubles. The people had put up several pine trees and decorated them as well. Marlene had always taken great pride in her own habitat, as it was one of the biggest ones. Everyone had dressed it up and put up decorations for it… all in anticipation for Santa Claus. He would be coming at midnight, after all. And of course Marlene believed in him. She prided herself in being a… good girl, and it had always rewarded her with amazing presents. She loved the season.

The zoo closed early on Christmas Eve that year… same as every year. Though this year would be special. Marlene knew it. Once the people all left, the animals congregated for their own party. Same as every year. Gathering with a few of her friends, they walked down to the pretty ocean front restaurant, that they broke into mostly only for major events, like this. Each animal carried a small present, something for the white elephant gift exchange they did. "Marlene, darling, who did you get for your white elephant exchange?" A friendly elephant seal asked.

The otter just shook her head, refusing to tell. "Come on, Bertha, you know I can't tell you that." Bertha just wanted to know if she got her, after all. Everyone in the zoo knew that Marlene gave the best gifts. As thoughtful as she was, she knew JUST what to get ANYONE. And the presents were exquisite for not costing her anything.

Not like they COULD buy anything. They were animals, and didn't have pockets to carry money in.

An older African otter chuckled, patting her own present. "Bertha, you don't have to worry about Marlene giving you a present." When asked why, she only responded, "Because I got YOU, silly." The three mammals laughed, making their way to their normal table, to await the gift exchange.

Once there, Marlene was almost immediately accosted by a large sea lion, who'd had his eyes on her since they met. She wasn't exactly interested in him, however. He was so much older than she was, and boring to boot. His voice could put any animal to sleep. "Marlene, it's so lovely to see you." Only when he said it, it dragged on, so it was more like, "Maaaarleeeene, it's so loooooovelyyyy to seeeee yoooooou."

Sadly, it was fun to mock.

The young Asian otter gritted her teeth and tried to smile. "Craig… it's… awesome to see you too." It really wasn't. He had tried to start up a conversation with her, but she really wasn't paying attention. On the contrary, she was looking out the window, at the gentle waves crashing on the rocks.

She loved her life here; it was most of what she had always known. She had transferred here as well, what seemed long ago, but now she grew bored of everyday life. It was fun to be adored and pampered… three-time internet popularity contest winner… probably THE cutest animal in the zoo… spoiled and doted on. You get the gist.

But she longed for something more. An adventure once in a while. Something to keep her on her toes. That was her Christmas wish. She had enough stuff, enough friends. It was only a matter of time, however, before she died of boredom.

"Attention! Animals, everyone, attention!" Red was an absolutely GORGEOUS scarlet ibis, who always had everyone's attention, and therefore was like the leader of the zoo, more or less. He was also stubborn, hard headed, ancient and a bit of a jerk if you were an idiot. Marlene rather liked him, though. He was pretty decent towards her. "Hey, jug heads! I said eyes up front!" And would you believe Christmas was one of his favorite times of the year? "Now listen up. Santa Claus is going to be here in less than an hour. So we have that much time to exchange presents and get to bed. And I don't wanna see ANY lollygaggers, or I will kick you to bed myself."

By now, everyone knew he wasn't kidding, but you still had those couple of animals who laughed nervously and got the evil eye. The exchange started without a hitch, animals scrambling to see who they got, and give presents as well. Marlene held tight to her own gift. This year, she requested for her name not to be put in the drawing, as she didn't want anything. And she didn't want anyone to get her anything, either.

Then again… who was the present for?

This was the question of the night, as Marlene was a very popular animal, and had many friends, or animals who wanted to be her friend. Of course, they didn't realize they couldn't do that by just buying her presents, so while they were jealous of the one who got her name, she just shook her head and smiled, knowing full well that no one was going to be able to butter her up this year. Red flapped his wings to clear the crowd away from the otter. "I hope you're doing well this Christmas, Marlene." He asked, in his same gruff tone. Even so, it sounded gentle somehow. She smiled and nodded, before hugging him. He was a bit like a surrogate father to her, she thought. And she always got him a present for Christmas: A tin of soft, smooth butter cookies.

She gave it to him that morning.

"Thanks, Red. I'm just excited for Santa to come this year." Red chuckled slightly. He had grown up and knew all about Santa Claus. Of course the giant elf was real, but everyone else just thought it was a game for the younger animals. As for Marlene believing in Santa still… well, her belief was true and pure. She never wished anything bad on anyone, and never asked for much for herself. Which was probably why she was loved by so many of the animals here, he thought. He checked the clock. Quarter till… time for them to head back home, if they wanted to be in bed before Santa got there. He rubbed his eyes a bit, something he had been doing a lot recently, before taking action.

He clapped his wings together, calling for attention from the room once again, and demanding that everyone move it back to their respective habitats. Most of the animals scurried out, but, as always, there was that few who straggled behind, to chit chat. Of course, Red wouldn't have that. "I'm going to count to three, and if I still see you here—" There wasn't much to say after that. They were GONE.

All, except for Marlene. "Red, if it's okay, I'm going to hold back a little bit." He knew her intentions were good, but if he played favorites with her too much, the other animals would know he was soft for her. Then again, it didn't take much to intimidate this crowd, and he nodded her off, before taking flight for his own roost. He was tired anyway, and needed to go to sleep… So tired…

Marlene took the long way around to her habitat, past the majority of the aquarium and the exhibits. She loved this time of year, even though it had never snowed, and she'd never seen snow before. Just once, she'd like to see it, she thought, as she wiped some fake snow off of one of the pine trees. It gathered like dust on the palm of her paw, warm and slightly sticky to the touch. If she knew anything about snow, though, it was that it didn't feel like this. She sighed, and dusted it off her herself the best that she could before carrying on with her walk, the present firmly tucked underneath her arm.

In all honesty, it was for Santa. She had to imagine he didn't get many presents for himself, besides for some last minute cookies. This one she took all month to think about, but she finally figured out something useful for Santa. It was a very pretty pocket watch, with stars and a moon and a sun on it too. She found it a few days into December, and waited a week for someone to claim it. When no one came for it, she took it for her own. Well, technically, Santa's own. She smiled down at the present in her arm, proud of it. She loved giving presents, and Santa's was going to be the best one yet!

The sky was dotted with beautiful stars, glittering and shining as brightly as they could next to the brightness of the full moon. Maybe, if she could stay awake long enough, she could meet Santa, and give him his present in person, and tell him her wish, and then—

A large bright light flashed across the sky, like a comet. A Christmas comet? Was it too much to ask for? …Maybe Santa had heard her plea early! Or… maybe the comet was coming right toward the aquarium! She ducked behind a Christmas tree and watched as it came closer and closer. "No way…" She whispered to herself, watching the fireball come in for a landing. But comets didn't land… did they? Nooo… they crashed, they impacted, they exploded, they brought B-list movies with amazing soundtracks… but they didn't land. That was no comet.

"Alright, guys… next up, Monterey Bay Aquarium, California!" A big lion announced as he jumped out of a sleigh. Marlene's jaw dropped. That was Santa's sleigh. And Santa wasn't on it, these were other animals. That much she knew for sure. Leading the sleigh weren't even reindeer. They were penguins!

A hippo pulled out a bag of presents, giving a few to each the lion, a zebra, and a giraffe. "Now, take these to the appropriate animals, and we'll meet back here when we're done." She said.

The animals separated, each taking a quadrant of the zoo. Or so it appeared, before they came back together. "We have no idea where these animals are, though, Gloria." The giraffe said.

The others agreed, looking at their unfamiliar surroundings. Marlene, however, couldn't believe what she was hearing. Where was Santa and why were these animals delivering the presents instead? She leaned in a little closer to hear what the mammals were saying, not realizing that she was being watched as well.

Before she knew it, she was being pushed in front of the tree by unfamiliar… hands? Flippers, maybe. "Hey! Cut it out, watch it, would yah!" She complained, holding tighter to the present in her paws. The animals and three of the penguins watched her emerge from her hiding place, a defiant look on her face. She wasn't going to let them scare her, what was the worst they could do, after all? She turned around to get a better look at her assailant. A stocky penguin crossed his arms and glared at her, as if she had done him a personal wrong. Not feeling intimidated, she glared right back. They were the intruders here, not her.

"It looks like we've got ourselves a spy, men." The stocky penguin said. HER! A spy? In her own aquarium, what nonsense.

The hippo pushed the penguin out of the way. "Skipper, knock it off! The poor thing probably lives here." Oh, that's nice, now they were completely undermining her. "Sorry about all the noise, we didn't mean to wake you up."

Marlene shook her head, moving the present further into the crook of her arm so she could properly introduce herself. "You didn't wake me up, I was awake already. And I am NOT a spy!" She said, mainly to Skipper, even though he rolled his eyes as if he didn't believe her. "My name is Marlene, I live here." The others looked impressed and slightly relieved, probably to have someone who knew the aquarium well enough… maybe she could help them. They introduced themselves, the penguins rather begrudgingly, and told her about their plight.

"So now, because of Alex here, we have to deliver all the presents before Christmas is over." Marty explained. The zebra seemed well informed about everything, one of the clearer minded ones. At least he wasn't paranoid, like the penguins were. Those birds were something else. "Hey, this would go a lot faster if you could help us!"

Finally! Marlene thought they would have never asked. She agreed wholeheartedly, redistributing the presents among each of them. "Okay, so Marty, you can take the reptiles, Gloria, you can have the amphibians." They took their jobs and rushed off, both going in the same direction, as Marlene had pointed them to do. She wasn't afraid to be in charge, Red taught her how once, and it was pretty easy. "Melman, you have the mammals." He sounded grateful for that, saying something about how they wouldn't mess with his allergies.

Alex was next, and Marlene felt herself grow a little warm at the sight of him. She had to admit, he was cute. For a cat, anyways. "Alex… erm, could you get the, uh… invertebrates? They're not too far from here." She said with a bit of a grin. He winked at her before marching off dutifully, causing her to giggle a bit to herself. The otter didn't realize she was being watched (or rather, glared at) by Skipper, who was more than annoyed at her girlish giggling and tittering at that hippie freak lion.

Sure the lower mammal was helpful, and once he got a good look at her, she didn't have the eyes of a spy. They were too… cute and innocent. He rolled his eyes once again, something he felt he had done a hundred times already. He turned to his troops, who were watching him, as if they knew something he didn't, and were very proud of this fact. "What?" He grumbled, stomping toward them. They looked away quickly, shrugging off his grumpiness. They had seen her study her, in a way he never looked at anything before. It was surreal, and yet... He turned when he realized there was someone behind him. Marlene stared at them expectantly, holding a group of presents. "And what, might I ask, is that for?

The otter shook her head in disbelief. They didn't get that those presents had to be delivered? Really? "You're taking these to the bird habitat. You have to help too, you know." At first, they didn't think she was serious. But when she put the gifts in each of their flippers, they knew it was no joke. Marlene studied the last one, trying to figure out who it would go to. She could recognize a few of the letters, and after struggling for a second, she knew what it said. "Hey, can I come with you to deliver this one?" She asked.

Skipper heard himself begin to say no, but the others said yes far faster than he could spit out the "n". Of all the traitorous, no good, low down… But then she batted those big, hazel-amber eyes, and he couldn't help but feel that she SHOULD go with them. If only just this once.

And maybe a few times after.

The bird cages were fairly quiet, despite a few whistling snores of the birds in the cages. Skipper smiled at this. His feathery brethren were good, and all deserved presents in this aquarium, which was good. The four split up, Skipper going with Marlene to deliver his present. Out of the blue, it seemed, she began to ask questions of the penguin. Where he had come from, what kind of things he liked to do, where he had been… For someone so bossy, she was also really curious. He indulged most of her questions without query. After all, they seemed fairly harmless. And it wasn't as if she could track them down. She was a fairly harmless, cute and innocent creature.

And she seemed like she was genuinely curious about his adventures. "I've always wanted to go on an adventure like that. It sounds like fun." Skipper chuckled at her naivety, knowing that she didn't really realize what she wanted. She looked around quickly, and pulled Skipper's flipper toward a red bird's habitat. "Red! Red, look!" Skipper's eyes swept over the bird, lying in a nest on the ground. Something wasn't right.

Skipper tried to get her attention before it was too late… but, as with most stories, it was too late. The otter reached out to touch the bird, before her paw shot back quickly and she backed up, right into Skipper's waiting flippers. "Sk-Skipper, he… he's cold… Skipper, he's too cold, do you… do you think he needs a blanket?" The penguin knew the response to that, but wasn't exactly sure how to put it in words. Instead, he wrapped his flippers around her, comforting her and telling her without words what needed to be said. Marlene's eyes filled with glimmering tears, finally becoming aware of the sudden and sad death of her favorite aquarium friend.

Most of all, she was saddened by the fact that she wasn't there in his last moments on Earth, and that he had to leave her during what should have been the happiest day of the year. Though in this stranger's arms she found a sort of solace, and it eased her a bit. "What's that under his wing?" Skipper asked quietly, pointing to a small, blue something. Marlene took a step closer, and felt a fresh new wave of tears cascade down her cheeks. The cookie tin she had given him was nestled safely in his arms.

In a way, then… she was with him. At least, in his last thoughts. She smiled, and left his present next to him, leaving the habitat behind.

A few minutes, and a few good cries later, the two of them were waiting for the rest of the animals to come back in silence on one of the many benches. Skipper wanted to say something, but such a situation was never covered in his training—"Skipper?" Marlene's voice cracked a bit, but she tried to make it sound as strong as she could, a trait to be admired, Skipper noted. "Thanks. Back there, I thought I would fall apart, but… Because of you, I couldn't. All the stuff you say you did…" She smiled softly. "Which, by the way, I don't believe you did," Skipper shrugged. It happens. "You're brave. I want to be like that." Was all she said. Skipper looked at her and nodded. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad Christmas trip after all.

Wait… The otter was still holding a present. Had they forgotten one? He pointed this out, and Marlene shrugged her shoulders, studying the box once more. When she told him it was for Santa, he smirked. "You're either a big kiss-up, or Santa got you something really great for Christmas." Marlene thought about this. This Christmas, she got a visit from four psychotic penguins, a cute lion, and three other impressive zoo animals from New York, she realized how lucky she truly was, and she got to be a part of a great adventure. Santa truly did work miracles. "Then again, Santa is knocked out in Madagascar, so…" Well, if that didn't just kill it. Marlene shook the box a little before smiling wider and handing the box to Skipper.

"Here." She said. Skipper took the box dutifully, telling her that he'd be sure Santa got it safely. She giggled a bit. "No. You keep it. It's for you." She said, standing up and heading back to her own habitat. It had been a very eventful Christmas, and though she never wanted it to end, she sort of did. The faster the humans found Red, the better. Skipper asked her where she was going, confused by her sudden want to go home. "I kinda got what I wanted. Don't worry about it, Skip." She sighed, waving a short goodbye. "Maybe I'll see you again one day." The mammal did have an exhausting work out, with the whole delivery thing, and her friend dying. He watched her retreating back before hearing his team come closer.

Skipper had yet to think of anything that he would want for Christmas, but now he had a thought. He could only wish that Marlene got her wish, and that one day she got to go on her own adventure.

* * *

A/N: I was in a depressing mood when I wrote this. Well, mostly. Anywhat, review.


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